One aspect of the invention relates to a method and to a processing system for determining the spatial structure of a control system with respect to the positions/positioning possibilities of system modules.
A control system, for example an automation or process control system, is generally composed of a number of system modules. System modules are understood here to be all components, which are contained or may be contained in a control system. System modules include software components and in particular hardware components. Examples of system modules in the present sense are bus systems, for example a ring bus system or a field bus system, as well as control system units and terminal components. Control system units are understood here to be, for example, automation system units or system units of process control systems, which form an enclosed control unit and are used, for example, to control specific plant components. These control system units may therefore be conceived of as a subsystem of the superordinate control system. Terminal components may be computer units, measuring units, actuation and control units or the like. Software modules in the sense of system modules are, for example, communications interfaces or data processing programs.
A complex control system for an industrial plant is generally planned in a first step on a computer by suitably combining the desired components, that is to say the system modules, in order to implement the plant concept. Here, the different system modules are usually presented in an electronic catalog.
In the course of the planning, the spatial structure of the control system is gradually built up with respect to the positions of the system modules. The spatial structure is also referred to as topology. As a rule, the individual system modules already have their own predefined spatial structure (topology). If a specific bus system is selected as the system module, for example during the planning, this selection simultaneously predefines a spatial structure. For example, the selected system module defines a ring bus which provides in total a specific number of connection possibilities. The underlying topology is also fixed when a specific control system unit is selected. This is because, for example, a hardware configuration is fixed for this unit, the configuration assigning a fixed number of switchboxes (racks) on a first level and assigning a fixed number of mounting locations (slots) to each switchbox in a second level.
During the planning, the operating personnel are confronted with the problem that they must be very familiar with the individual system modules, in particular with their spatial structure. This problem is similarly also encountered with existing plants or in the case of only partially planned plants in which additions are to be made. The operating personnel must use their own knowledge of the individual system modules in order to recognize the topology of the control system and determine, for example, where there are still free locations for hardware components.